Former Texas Gov. Rick Perry circled back Tuesday to attack the family of a deceased Muslim-American soldier who spoke at the Democratic National Convention, arguing that Khizr Khan’s status as a Gold Star father didn’t give him a pass from criticism.
Trump has refused to say whether his relentless attacks on a Gold Star family were a “mistake,” but said that the matter had been “put to bed for a long time” and did not merit further discussion—a memo his supporters seem to have missed. In an interview with CNN’s Jake Tapper, Perry charged Khan with striking “the first blow” by speaking at the convention.
“In a campaign, if you’re going to go out and think that you can take a shot at somebody and not have incoming coming back at you, shame on you,” Perry said.
He cited Khan’s remarks as a justification for the fiery response from Trump and his supporters, saying that Khan “politically used his time on that stage to go after Donald Trump” and therefore should not get a “free ride” in response.
“Because he had a son that was lost in this war against terror,” Perry asked, “that gives him a free ride to say whatever he would like against a candidate that he is not for? That is not proper. That is not correct.”
Earlier in the week, Carl Paladino, a co-chair for Donald Trump’s campaign in New York, also went on the attack, saying that Khan’s remarks were a “disgrace” to his son’s memory and demonstrated a “lack of character and backbone.”
Watch below via CNN:
Texas Gov. Rick Perry on Khizr Khan: “Shame on you” https://t.co/1Grt0DSWJv
— Tim Fernholz (@TimFernholz) August 16, 2016
